Saturday, October 22, 2011

Events: Week of 10/24/2011

ALL members of the University of Maryland, College Park community are encouraged to attend! Everyone's voice counts! Be heard! Share your views!


General Assembly 10/24/2011

Monday, October 24, 2011 at the Sundial. 4:30 pm.
We are crafting statements and demands, plans for occupation, a teach-in, a march. Please come and share your voice! All are welcome!

General Assembly 10/26/2011

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at the Sundial. 6:00 pm.
Preparing for occupation, a teach-in, a march. Please come and share your voice! All are welcome!

Occupation Begins! 10/28/2011

Friday, October 28, 2011 at the Sundial. 5:00 pm.
A march at 5:00 and then we set up camp for occupation!

Notes General Assembly 10/18/2011

OCCUPY UMD
General Assembly notes from October 18th at 430 at the sun dial on the Mall,

Agenda Topics
Discussion of campus specific goals
Beginning the Occupation
•    choose and date and time
Outreach
•    covering campus with flier about OUMD
•    outreach to student groups, staff, professors, media
Next GA times

We reached consensus on...
Beginning the Occupation
•    The occupation will begin Oct. 28!
•    There will be a march at 5pm, General Assembly at 6pm to be followed by our first night of occupation.
•    This is the beginning of a 24-7 occupation of the mall at the sundial
•    There will daily actions and GA's everyday from here on out (specifics to be determined)
•    The Action Committee will begin outreach tasks for this (see below for more info)
Creating an Action Committee (more info below)
Changing our Facebook Group into a FB Page to facilitate coming growth
•    You can join that here facebook.com/OccupyUMD

Action Committee - tasks
•    create a flier to post over campus to advertise the upcoming occupation
•    distribute this flier to all those already involved to help post everywhere on campus
•    begin planning the first march on oct.28th
•    if you are interested in this committee or more information you can join the
google group

Other Committed and Action
Mohsen will...
•    contact Community Roots, Black Student Union, African Student Union, Students for Liberty, and Youth for Ron Paul about coming out to OUMD
•    contact Maria from the Diamondback, the Eclipse, and the Washington Post about covering OUMD
•    help create a press release about the beginning of the occupation
Angie will...
•    contact Triota, the Womens’ Studies Honor Society, and The NAACP about coming out to OUMD
•    contact Amer. Studies professor about participating in the Teach-In
Tyler will...
•    contact Terpoets, the Love Movement, and Buhdism Club about coming out to OUMD
•    contact CP Radio and Writers’ Block about covering OUMD
•    help create a press release about the beginning of the occupation
Dennis will...
•    contact the National Labor Guild about coming out to do legal observing for OUMD
•    contact campus legal about the legality of occupying the mall and sleeping there
•    contact Feminism without Borders and Justice at Maryland about coming out to OUMD
Emily will...
•    contact Coop Housing Universtiy of Marlyand, and the Agricultural Frat about coming out to OUMD
•    contact WJZ news about covering OUMD
Todd will...
•    contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy about coming out to OUMD
•    contact some CP Radio about covering OUMD
John will...
•    contact the Jewish newspaper on campus
Jordan will...
•    contact CollegeDems about coming out to OUMD
Juan will...
•    contact Socy professors about participating in the Teach-In
Alex will...
•    contact Poli-Psy professors about participating in the Teach-In
Aaron will...
•    contact professor Pease about participating in the Teach-In
•    contact campus legal about the legality of occupying the mall and sleeping there

The Next General Assemblies
•    Monday Oct. at 4:30 at the sundial on the mall
•    Wednesday Oct. at 6pm at the sundial on the mall
and
•    Friday Oct. 28 at 6 pm at the sundial on the mall (first day of the occupation, BE THERE!)

Legal Update
Campus legal aid was sympathetic but unable to answer questions without specific charges. The resident attorney was helpful but does not know the specific regulations on demonstrations on campus. They suggested we ask police about permitting requirements, he thinks we would technically need one but did say that back when he was a college student they didn't apply for permits they just did it anyway knowing they might get arrested.

They also informed us that we have no legal right to disrupt normal functioning of the university, ie blocking of sidewalks or building entrances, or disrupting classes, and to keep this in mind when planning the occupation. The good news is they also informed us none of this would be in obvious violation of the student code of conduct unless the police tell us something is illegal.

Myself(dennis) and Aaron discussed taking a field trip to the campus police station, to ask them about some of these legal issues. We may go to that office on this friday if anyone is interested in going as well.

Thanks for reading the Notes!!!! You’re the best!
(and thanks to Dennis for taking the notes, typing them, and making them public! he's the best too!)

Friday, October 21, 2011

General Assembly 10/24/2011

Next General Assembly is Monday, October 24, 2011 at the Sundial. 4:30 pm.

We are crafting statements and demands, plans for occupation, a teach-in, a march. Please come and share your voice! All are welcome!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Fourth General Assembly 10/18

Fourth General Assembly

Tuesday, October 18
5:30 pm
The Sundial

ALL ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND!
Please come share YOUR voice!

Lawrence Lessig to speak at OccupyDC

Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center on Ethics and Lab studying corruption in government, will be speaking at OccupyDC on Tuesday, October 18 at 5:30 pm at McPherson Square.

Details at OccupyDC.

General Assembly 10/16/2011

Occupy UMD
October 16, 2011

1.     Agenda
     a.     Do we want specific demands
          i.      Economic injustice
          ii.      Social injustice
          iii.      Political injustice
          iv.      Etc.
     b.      Talk about our identity
     c.      Presence on Maryland
          i.      Should we have an identity here?
     d.      What is different about Maryland rather than Washington DC
     e.      Is there a cultural aspect to the movement?
          i.      A culture of materialism
          ii.      Individualistic
          iii.      Reliance on the system
     f.      How much are we a slave to the boundaries of the University of Maryland?
     g.     University of Maryland as a corporation
          i.     3 adjuncts and 1 professor – who’s teaching you?
          ii.     College is deeply rooted in our high schools, culture and past
          iii.     Graduate school is becoming a necessity
          iv.     Is a bachelor’s degree
          v.     Should colleges take responsibility with student loans?
               1.     Subsidies from student loans
               2.     Grants for students?
               3.     Is the University responsible for the loans they get paid from the banks
          vi.     Our University is separated from the rest of the greater College
Park town
          vii.     University, though state run and public, why is it so expense?
          viii.     Government is not making the University a public school
option.
     h.     There’s no international standards to keep the corporations from exporting jobs for cheaper labor
     i.      Who are corporations accountable to?
          i.     Shareholders
          ii.     Who should they be accountable to:
               1.     Consumers
               2.     Employees
     j.     Should the University be more accountable to it students?
     k.     Where is the University putting it’s money
     l.      Why is there underemployment
          i.      We want to know what’s happening with our money?
     m.      Profit driven individuals rather than an ethically driven individual
     n.      People that are living as individuals rather than a more communal lifestyle
     o.      Sustainability and balance
     p.      Handicapped and disability mistreatment
     i.      Make the information accessible as well as disability
     q.      Demands
          i.      Disability concerns
          ii.      Food concerns
     r.      What is the administration doing with all the money

2.      Are we occupying AT the University or occupying the University of Maryland?
     a.      An outreach for the entire movement
     b.      Administration will not like what is going on if we specifically are in protest of the University

3.      Media with an agenda rather than media for the sake of the news

4.      Corporate funding of elections

5.      Once money becomes free speech, we have less free speech than others

6.      We need the recreation of the political far left
     a.      Why would or will Obama listen to us if he knows that he’s going to have all of our votes

7.      Attain Ideological Goals
     a.      Real Democracy
          i.      Vast majority of people in power rather than the elite
          ii.      Bring Democracy home
     b.      Education
          i.      Accountability of teachers
          ii.      Better job security for professors
          iii.      Property Taxes
     c.      Sustainability and Balance

8.      Next Meeting Tuesday – 3:30 Sundial

9.      Who is willing to consider camping

10.      Have word of mouth conversations to spread the idea and the movement